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Eating less since Baby led solids

Hello All,

We started our baby on solids (oat meal) when he was 5 months old. We mixed it with breast milk and he ate fine. He is now 9 months old and we've started baby led solids (I know a little late, thought we got started on the wrong foot) . But now he hardly eats. He eats a few pieces of food and then he is done. Earlier he would eat almost a half a cup of pureed veggies and fruits each meal.
I'm wondering if that's ok. Will his growth suffer?

Re: Eating less since Baby led solids

That's fine, and his growth won't suffer. First of all, now that your LO is self-feeding, he is really deciding for himself exactly how much he needs, instead of opening up for the spoon a few extra times because it's a game or because he wants to please you. Second, breastmilk alone can fill all your baby's nutritional needs until he's around a year, after which the transition to a majority-solids diet can be a slow one, with many babies still getting most of their calories from mama's milk until they are well into their second year. Third, a baby's nutritional needs vary over time, based on their rate of growth and their activity level. Older babies and toddlers have slower growth rates than newborns and young babies, so decreased solid intake at a certain point can be just a normal consequence of not needing as much food.

I wouldn't worry! I have done BLS with both my kids- by default with the first, because she just. would. not. eat off a spoon, and through laziness with the second- and while neither one of them ate all that much until they wereover a year, their growth and development never suffered.